May 22, 2001
Dear members of the SIGMAA on Statistics Education,
This is my first ‘Letter from the Chair’ after my big,
I-hope-welcoming, letter from March, and my short e-mail that I sent just
recently (before I realized every e-mail to you should be a ‘Letter from
the Chair’!).
First, I hope that I see lots of you in San Diego
this January. I did not go in 1997, so I am especially looking forward
to the meetings. Would anyone like to look into getting Shark tickets for
those interested? [The statisticians usually go to a baseball game in August,
but we would have to see hockey, indoor soccer, or … ?]
Second, I would like to point out that the May/June 2001 FOCUS has the ‘Preliminary Announcement’ for the Contributed Paper Sessions in San Diego (p22). Please contribute to any of them, but consider the two Stat Ed sponsored ones first:
MAA CP J1, Best Practices in Undergraduate Statistics Education,
MAA CP Q1, Innovative Outcome Assessment in Statistics Education.
The official ‘Call for Papers’ may be on page 25. See http://www.ams.org/amsmtgs/2049_intro.html for the latest, posted information on what else is going on at the meetings.
Third, we are co-sponsoring a Panel with the MAA Committee on the Profession. It is titled "Life After a Math Sciences Major: Tracking and Using Alumni Career Information" and the abstract is below in the PS.
Fourth, please note that the SIGMAA on Stat Ed business
meeting will be on Friday night, January 8, from 6-8pm. We will have the
business meeting at 6, and then at 7, Roxy Peck of California Polytechnic
State University (at San Luis Obispo), current Chief Faculty Consultant
for the AP Statistics exam, will speak on the AP Statistics exam!
First, with luck, within a few days we should have
a fetal web page up. Paul Pasles and Francisco Alarcon have been working
on this and will be anxiously awaiting your suggestions.
Second, I have corrected 13 of 24 bogus web addresses that I received from the MAA, and am waiting to hear from 7 others. Four are overseas members, so if any of you are good at deciphering e-mail addresses or hunting down folks, feel free to volunteer to help. IF YOU ARE ONE OF THE 13 whose first SIGMAA message from me is this e-mail, then please let me know.
Third, I still need some volunteers for the newsletter. The three editors will need help with ‘column editors,’ and we have run into some conflicts. [I would like a format by the end of August and a newsletter out by mid-fall.]
I hope you all have a good summer. (I think that I forgot something else, but I want to get this out!)
Dex
The career paths of alumnae/alumni of undergraduate mathematics and mathematical sciences programs lead to diverse careers in which mathematical skills are crucial to success. Many of these paths lead to completion of graduate or professional programs in a wide variety of disciplines. Making students aware of the variety of career options can attract many students to programs in the mathematical sciences. Panelist Andrew Sterrett will address the variety of careers and graduate programs in which mathematical sciences alumni are involved. Panelists David Lutzer, Laura Person, and Lisa Traynor will describe how they have collected career information from alumnae/alumni of mathematics programs at William and Mary, SUNY at Potsdam, and Bryn Mawr, respectively, and how that feedback has been used in advising students and in planning and adjusting programs at these colleges and universities.